GUEST ARTICLE: Your Newborn is Creating Billions of Neural Connections Daily …wait what?
That's right, your baby is creating billions of neural connections in their brain every single day. In fact, from birth to 3 years old, your child’s brain will have grown to 80% of its adult size. By age five, that number jumps to 90%. Wow…that is a lot of growth!
So what can you do to ensure that your child is creating higher quality and quantity of neural connections? The answer is simple….PLAY with them!
Why? Because children don't learn to move, they move to learn!
Purposeful play is the first and best way to help your child create strong neural connections that will lay a strong foundation for future learning.
What is purposeful play? It looks different for every family, but it is playtime that is set aside to exercise and develop age-appropriate learning and movement activities. Below are three quick tips for purposeful play with your child.
Tip #1: Ensure the environment is safe and your child feels loved and secure.
Children learn best when they feel safe, loved and supported. So love on your child. Hold them, give them hugs and kisses and encourage them. You are the best parent for your child. Remember that and watch your child thrive.
Tip #2: Meet your child where they are developmentally.
Younger and sooner is not better. Thorough skill development is best. Play should be focused on expanding on what your child can do now, not forcing them into something they are not developmentally ready for yet.
Not sitting independently yet? Don't force it. Go back to tummy time and focus on strengthening their back, arms and neck first so they can support their body weight first before sitting.
Are they crawling consistently? Awesome! Now offer a new environment to crawl on. Try an uneven surface; utilize the stairs, build a pillow trail, crawl in the grass or add a towel for new textures.
Tip #3: Know the power of a ball (or balloon)
Did you know there are so many different ways to utilize a ball when playing with your child? Here are some examples:
4-8 months old: Roll a ball in front of your child on a flat surface and watch their eyes and head move to track the ball. Tracking is the first step to developing efficient response times which is key to catching a ball.
8-12 months old: blow up a balloon and add ⅓ helium. Throw up into the air and watch your child track the balloon with their eyes and reach for the balloon with their hands.
AND/OR find a small ball and work on gripping. Feel different textured balls. Fine motor grasp of a small ball (i.e. golf ball) is key for later daily fine motor tasks.
12-18 months: work on dropping a ball into a bucket on the floor. Then raise the bucket up and have your child drop into the bucket. Can do from sitting or standing. Look for extension of limbs up, down and across the body.
18+ months: have your child throw a ball into a bucket or basketball hoop. Have them track the ball as it rolls away, retrieve and repeat.
Any age: find a small hill. Roll the ball uphill to your child and try to have them trap the ball with their hands.
Happy Playing!!
Bridget Dean
Owner, Beyond ABC
PlayWisely Infant and Child Specialist
Bridget Dean is the owner of Beyond ABC, a children’s education company based in Green Bay, WI where children come to learn, play and thrive!
As a certified PlayWisely Infant and Child Specialist, Bridget utilizes the PlayWisely method in her child developmental wellness classes for children ages 4 months old through 4 years old.
PlayWisely has taken the latest and most robust findings from science, academia and sport as it relates to childhood play and brain development to create an innovative curriculum that’s designed to optimize your child’s natural learning potential. We capitalize on the fact that your child is creating billions of neural connections every day and ensure that we provide quality experiences to help build stronger neural connections and brain abilities. We build your child's developmental 'tool chest' of skills that will help them make their way through this rapidly changing world.
PlayWisely classes at Beyond ABC are fun-filled, action-packed adventures that engage the foundational learning skills for school readiness: attention, perception, memory and language. Age-appropriate movement activities build children’s body confidence, so when they discover a purpose, passion, or talent, they will have the tools to realize their dreams.
Bridget@beyondabc.co
327 Main Ave, Suite D
De Pere, WI 54115
Website: www.beyondabc.co
Instagram: @beyondabc.co
Facebook: Beyond ABC